Rubber-tread flexible armor for pneumatic tires.



0, L. WOLFE.

RUBBER TREAD FLEXIBLE ARMOR FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7. 1913.

1 ,155,025. L PatentedSept. 28, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

c. L. WOLFE.

RUBQER TREAD FLEXIBLE ARMOR FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1. 1913.

1,155,025. PatentedSept. 28, 1915.

2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

, 3 mom atom CLINTON L. "WOLFE, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

BUBBER -TREAD FLEXIBLE ARMOB FOB,- IPNEUMATIC TIRES/ Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented dept, 28, 1915.

Application filed June 7, 1913. Serial No. 772,324.

To all whom dzmay concern:

Be it known that l, CLINTON L. l/VOLFE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State ofltew York, have invented certain new the shoe ol' the tire or to the wheel, to which end the sub-divisions or pieces of the armor which are relatively movable to permit them to yield locally, are not only connected to gether to prevent circun'lferential separation as heretofore, but they are provided with interlocking bearings one upon another, which resist relative displacement in the direction. of the wheels radius and, therefore, prevent torsional displacement between the armor pieces, without which the inner concave bearing face of the complete armor ring cannot escape from the convex Si 'lace oi the inflated tire. This interlocking thrust bearii I is preferably developed by the wntorming concave-convex ends with which the armor pieces abut against one another, in which case the connections for re ,umtlerential separation are best y short links pivoted to each posito sides of the joints which ahutuient may be measurrabhcting together the ends i i it)! pieces and extending a pintle through the intersecting parts, which form oi connection may serve as the circumfereir.

tial rusioning connection as well.

urthcr object to provide a strong tread rcwived ,iu the outer who! and to employ this iorce as a further meansof armor; to which end ring ltlll sustaining the join a solid rubber outer outer channeled surface of the annular armoi, is provided with a plurality of chains p; but this alining connection ile tecsioning reinforce for the' tread, fitted in the embedded therein constructed with flexibility in the direction of the wheels radius.

A further object is to adapt a cushion tread armor of the general type described, for use on heavy vehicle or truck wheels, to which end a further feature of the invent10n consists in providing the main wheel with a plurality of circumferential pneumatic tires arranged parallel. to each other and to construct the flexible armor with a corresponding number of concave seats on its inner surface to receive said pneumatic tires, and with one or more channels in its outer surface to receive one or a plurality of elastic treads. A satisi'a embodiment of this feature of the in v is pro vided by employing three pneuc tires to support the armor and two e astic treads around the outside of the arm r. But the relative numbers of the inner and outer resilient members and consequent shaping of the metallic armor toreceive the same may bevaried as circumstances-may dictate.

Several embodiments of the invention are shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings, in whicl Figure I is a side elevation of a complete wheel provided with an elastic tread armor constructed in accordance with my invention; Figs. 2 and are sections of the same taken, respectively, in the middle plane of the wheel and on a radius of the wheel; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the use of a singletube inflatable tire; Figs. 5 and (3 are plan views showing a portion of the armor employed in Figs. 1 to 4; Fig. 5 showing "the link pintles provided by through bolts, and Fig. 6 showing such pintles provided by studs formed integrallywith the armor pieces; Fig. 7 is a radial section of the outer portion of a wheel showing an embodiment of my invention suitable for wheels designed to bear heavy loads; l 8 and 9 show by plan view and radial section, a modified means for holding the elastic tread upon the armor ring; and Fig. 10 is a perspective View showing a construction in which the armor pieces are rabbeted together and have their tension connection provided by through bolts concentric with theirhinging axes. 1

1 represents the normal rim and 2 the infiatable tire of a known construction of wheel. The tire 2 may consist of an outer shoe with an inner tube 2' in accordance rim of To prevent wear and tear upon the ex' pensive inflatable tire, and still avail of they advantage of a locally yielding wheel tread,'a metallic armor comprising an annular series of armor pieces 3 is constructed with aconcaveinner face adapted to fit over the convex surface of the inflated tirev inorder to come between the'inflated tire and the surface over which the vehicle travels. It has heretofore been proposed to use an armor of this general type and to render it locally yielding by making it of a large number of separate armor pieces flexibly connected together, as for instance by links 4: pivoted to the armor pieces at points on opposite sides of the joint across which the link extends. But this form of connection,

while desirable to sustain the annular seriesof armor pieces against circumferential separation, is insuflicient to hold the armor upon the wheel, for the reason that it does not sustain the armor pieces with suflicient rigidity against relative displacement in outward or inward radial directions, and the employmentof such constructions in connection with means for attaching the armor pieces directly to the shoe ofthe inner inflatable tire, would defeat the convenient application of the armor to existing wheels,

even if not impracticable for other reasons.

According to my invention, as shown more clearly in Figs. 1, 5, 6, 8 and 10 the armor pieces are provided with interlocking abutments one upon another, of suchcharvacter as will prevent radial displacement ofthe parts at the joints while in no wise interfering with the free, hinging .action necessary to develop the locally yielding action which is the main feature of advantage in a pneumatic tire over other forms of springs. According to Figs. 1, 5 and 6 and also acc'brding to Figs. 8 and 10, this interlocking abutment is provided by constructing one end of each of the armor pieces 3- with a concaveend 5 and the adjacent end of the next piece with a convex end 6. These concave and convex ends may be limited to the outer edge portions of the armor pieces where the radial dimension is greatest by reason of the presence of the retaining flanges, but it is desirable to also have the intervening portions likewise in contact or sufficiently close to exclude nails or sharp projections that might penetrate the outer elastic tread in order to save the inner inflatable tire ort1res from puncture.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6, as well as the embodiment shown in Figs. 8 and 10, the armor pieces are further interlocked by the projection of the body of one armor piece in the form of a tongue 8 in between the flanges of the next armor piece, so as to assist'in resisting displacement in the direction of the axis of the 1 Wheel.

In' Figs. 1, 5 and 6 the armor pieces are held in abutment mainly by the links 4 which sustain them against circumferential separation, but they are also partially sustained by the surrounding elastic tread, particularly if the latter be provided with tension reinforce members 7 to be described.

Inasmuch as the armor presents a constantly arched form to the surface over which the vehicle travels and the arch is constantly pressed inward and flattened under theload of the vehicle. it will be seen that the series of armor pieces constitute an annular column of, members, each of which has thrust bearing upon the other so that pressure upon any piece cannot displace it relatively to the next piece, but merely devel-' ops a hinging action between the pieces. This is due to the interlocking thrust bearagainst by the interlocking butments between the pieces.

According to the construction shown in Fig. 10, thehinging connection which resists circumferential separation, is provided by hinging the rabbeting parts together as by having the tongue 8 on one member project in a recess formed between the projecting ends 6 of the other member, and

passing the pintle 9 through the overlapped parts at the axis of hinging action.- In

this form, the reduced intermediate portions of the armor pieces are formed concave and convex to receive a part of the thrust and assist in preventing displacement.

. As shown in Fig. 7 a plurality of inflatable tires 2 may be employed upon a riml especially constructed to receive them and the armor 3 may be made of corresponding width and constructe with a separate seat 3* upon each tire, whi e its outer surface is grooved to receive a plurality of elastic treads 1O (preferablytwo), where in the form shown in the remaining figulres, but a single outer tread 10 is used. These outer treads when less in number than the inner tires are so disposed as to distribute the transmitted load symmetrically. In Fig. 7

' each outer tread receives all the load from reduced intermediate portions and an outer tire and half of the load transmitted through the intermediate tire.

The reinforcing chains 7 embedded in the outer elastic treads 10 are flexible radi ally and they are preferably made of such length that when connected to complete the annulus, they will develop appreciable tension upon the armor and thus assist in sustaining the same as well as holding the cushion tread in place. The side walls of the outer channel or channels of the armor may be straight as shown at 11, in Figs. 3 and 4, or undercut to receive flanged bases of the treads as shown at '12 in Fig. 7.

The outer elastic treads may be secured in position by means of transverse pins 13 extending through the bases of the treads and entering the undercut flanges 12, as shown in Figs. 7 and 9. y

14 represents the usual inflating valves for the tires.

15 represents a lining of asbestos or other non-conducting material, preferably incased in fabric, for the purpose of limiting the conduction of heat to the inflatable tire and reducing wear upon the same.

claim 1. An armor for pneumatic tires comprising a 'circumferentially united series of individual armor-pieces capable of relative angular movement in the plane of the wheel; said pieces being constructed with radially circumferentially extending lateral enlargements projecting radially, both inward and outward from the intermediate portions, to form seats for an inner inflatable tire and an outer cushioning tread, said lateral enlargements being constructed with radially interlocking arcuate hinging abutments and the reduced intermediate portions of the armor pieces breaking joints with the lateral enlargements, whereby the pieces are interlocked in the direction of the axis of .the wheel.

2. An armor for pneumatic tires comprising a circumferentially united series of indigular movement in the locked in the direction of the axis of the wheel, the means for circumferentially unit mg the pieces comprising hinging connections concentric with the arcuate hinging abutments.

3. An armor for pneumatic tires compris ing a circumferentially united series of individual armor-pieces capable of relative anplane of the wheel;

said pieces being constructed with radiallyreduced intermediate portions and circum ferentially extending lateral enlargements projecting radially, both inward and outward from the intermediate portions, to form seats for an inner inflatable tire and an outer cushioning tread, said lateral enlarge: ments being constructed with radially interlocking concave and convex hinging abutments and the reduced intermediate portion on the piece carrying the concave abutments protruding in between the convex abutments of the next piece, and pintles passing through the enlargements carrying said convex abutments and through the said inter-protruding reduced portions and thereby tying the pieces together.

The foregoing specification signed at lVashington, District of Columbia, this fifth day of June, 1913.

-CLINTON L. WOLFE.

In presence of two witnesses:

WILLsoN H. KNIGHT, BENNETZI S. Jones. 

